It All Began With A Fox
by Yuyake Kaminari
Summary: It's been 5 years since the war, 5 years since the destruction of the nations, 5 years since the fall of Akutsuki, and 5 years since the fall of Madara, Sasuke, Tobi, Kabuto, and Zetsu. 5 years that only 3 ninja survived, fighting off memories, depress
1. Chapter 1

It's been 5 years since the war, 5 years since the destruction of the nations, 5 years since the fall of Akutsuki, and 5 years since the fall of Madara, Sasuke, Tobi, Kabuto, and Zetsu. 5 years that only 3 ninja survived, fighting off memories, depression, and death.

Alone, stood three Konoha ninja, standing in what used to be Konoha. Their used to be home. The life they once knew was all destroyed. The Blonde male of the group stood just over 6 ft. tall. The man had blonde, spiky hair held up by a beaten and battered Konoha headband. He also had cold, blue eyes. The young man had three abnormal whisker-like marks on each cheek, giving him a more feral look. He wore a black cloak, adorned with blue and red flames, with one lone kanji sewed on the back, meaning 'detirmined'. He wore a simple black muscle shirt underneath, with matching pants. The female of the group stood just about 6 ft. with long, platinum blonde hair held in a ponytail that reached the middle of her back. She had one, simple bang covering the right side of her face, showing off her light blue colored eyes. She wore a damaged Jonin jacket, with a simple purple t-shirt underneath. She wore her headband tied to her arm. She wore similar pants to that of the blonde male. She could be seen standing quite close to him. The third, and oldest member of the group, was seen in normal jonin attire for Konoha. He had silver gravity defying hair, with his headband covering his left eye, and a black mask that covered the bottom half of his face. These three are the sole surviving members of not only their village, but of the five elemental nations. They are Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, Ino Yamanaka, and Kakashi Hatake.

"I have to stop this! I can't let this happen! I have to find a way to change this!" Naruto yelled out, standing in the crater that used to be Konoha.

"Naruto! Calm down, we'll think of a way, but for now, you have to remain calm," Kakashi said, putting a hand on his pupil's shoulder.

"Kakashi-sensei's right. For now, we have to think. Until we find an idea that will work, we're going to have to stay calm," Ino said, walking up to her friend. Naruto just shook his head.

"If it weren't for me, Konoha would still be here, and not just a crater. All our friends would be alive, everybody. It's my damn fault," Naruto said, tears falling to the ground below him.

"No, it's not your fault. They made their own choice to protect you," Ino said, putting a comforting hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Hey, Naruto. I know this may be ridiculous, but did you look at the forbidden scroll? There may just be a jutsu in there that could end up helping us all," Kakashi asked as an idea popped into the now calmed down Naruto's head.

"That's brilliant! I was given the scroll as part of my inheritance, and I made sure to seal it the other scrolls from my parents' families!" Naruto exclaimed as he opened his black cloak and took out a small storage scroll. Kakashi just smiled at his student. _'To think, the number one knuckle headed ninja from Konoha has become the strongest ninja since TheSage of the Six Paths,' _Kakashi thought, laughing inwardly at the Irony.

"Aha! I found it! Kako ni modorimasu. Jikan to kūkan (Time and Space: Return to the past) is the jutsu we need. It needs everybody traveling back to do the exact same hand seals at the exact same time. And we need to have a really important reason to go back, otherwise we'll all die in the process," Naruto said, reading the Jutsu's information from the scroll.

"Alright, I'm up for it. How about you, Ino?" Kakashi said, nodding to their female companion.

"So long as we remember everything that happened, then I am too," Ino said, a look of fierce determination in her light blue eyes.

"Alright, let's practice them today, that way we have it perfect for tomorrow when we are able to do the jutsu. I promise, when we get back, I won't let anything happen to any one of you," Naruto said, remembering all those that died. _'Iruka-sensei, Choji, everybody, I promise, I won't let you die. Never, so long as I live. I promise, I will never let this happen,' _Naruto thought, fighting back tears as he remembered each of his friends that had died.

"Naruto, promise me we'll still be friends, ok?" Ino said, lifting Naruto's chin up so she could look at him in the eye.

"I promise. Besides, we have to figure out when the trouble all started, when everything went downhill," Naruto said, drifting off into thought. Ino looked out, blankly, as did Kakashi.

"How about the graduation?" Ino asked, startling the silver haired jonin and her blonde friend from thought.

"Yeah. That's perfect time," Naruto said, agreeing with Ino.

"Yeah. But how are we going to change it. We have to decide whether it's gradual, or if it's immediate effect," Kakashi said, putting the two blondes into deep thought.

"How about this. We keep up the act to everybody else except jiji-san. I think he should know at least,' Naruto said, causing Kakashi to shake his head.

"Know, Sarutobi-sama would never believe us, not without some proof. The only way we could do that is if we were to bring in Ino's father, but that would be too many people. Besides, to think all this destruction and death was caused by some troublesome Uchihas," Kakashi said, mentally saying that Shikamaru's soul should lie in rest.

"No. I can't allow this to happen, not if we go back into the past to change it. That's the reason I NEED to go back," Naruto said in a saddened voice, remembering his battle with the last Uchiha. He sighed, but returned to his normal self once again. "If you don't want to go, fine. But I'm going, with or without you. I promise, I will succed this time in stopping Sasuke before he defects. If he does it again, I'll keep trying and trying, until I succeed!" Naruto said, a fierce look of determination in his cerulean eyes.

"You're not doing it alone," Ino said, gripping onto Naruto's hand, a similar look in her eyes. _'I will help save you, Choji, Shikamaru, mom, dad, I promise. I will do my best to help you, I promise with every ounce of my soul, I won't let you die, not again,' _Ino said, gripping Naruto's hand even harder.

"You think I'm going to be left out? Maybe now I'll have a chance to keep my promise to at least one of my precious people," Kakashi said, his mind immediately drifting to his old teammate, Rin. "I can't allow this to happen. I already slipped while protecting my precious people. Obito, Minato-sensei, everybody, I'm sorry," Kakashi said, collapsing from sadness.

"Kakashi-sensei, Ino-chan, thank you. For everything. You two have been the only ones who are just like me, too stubborn to die. I'm sorry I put you all through this," Naruto said, letting tears fall freely down his face, and across his whisker marks, which they then proceeded to drop to the ground. _'Mom, dad, Jiji-san, I'm sorry. I failed you when I said I would protect your legacies, I'm sorry, but at least I now know I have a chance to right my mistakes,' _Naruto said, wiping away his tears. "Come on, we have to find shelter. _They'll _ be out in full force tonight, the smell of fresh tears will attract them instantly. You two find a place and I'll lead them away," Naruto said, turning to leave. He was stopped by Ino, who was still clutching to his hand.

"No. we can't risk losing you too. We'll fight them as a team. We've survived this long acting like a team, no reason for us to stop now, right Kakashi?" Ino said, causing the silver-haired jonin to look up.

"Right. Besides, Ino's right. You're the only one that can perform this type of jutsu," Kakashi said, causing Naruto to brighten up a bit.

"Alright, but we still have to find shelter," Naruto said, getting into a defensive stance when he heard the first of their calls. "They're here," Was all Naruto said before pulling out his rather large katana, which had a hilt that was similar to that of the Kyuubi's head. Ino and Kakashi did the same, Ino pulling out a katana that was similar to that of the Nibi's head, while Kakashi pulled out a tanto similar to the one he carried as a kid.

"Ready?" Ino asked, receiving a nod from everybody who was ready for the upcoming fight. "Let's go!" Ino yelled as she ran head first into the darkness followed closely by the only people she knew that were still alive.

**AN: Ok, so if you read this story, you may be wondering who **_**They **_**are. **_**They, **_**are fear and sad loving monsters. **_**They, **_**can only be described as looking like the mythological werewolf. They have no eyes. They 'see' using their smell which picks up on chakra usage, fear, and sadness. They were once part of Kabuto's secret expirements that were released during the end of the fourth shinobi world war. Since then, only three people have been able to escape their wrath, everybody else died protecting their loved ones, or were just simply hunted down like a game. Naruto, Ino, and Kakashi have been the only three to survive, fighting the beasts or simply just fleeing from the fight. Just thought you might wonder who **_**They **_**were. Thanks for reading, please review. Note, I may have made the characters a bit O.C., but it all fit into my story, so I had to do it. Plus, the ways that the rookie 12 had died will be revealed later, along with the other people's deaths.**


	2. Chapter 2

The sound of a battle could be heard for miles, though no one was there to hear it. The land had once been beautiful, but was now corrupt with the blood of a war that had destroyed much of the land. Their were growls and howls, whimpers of pain, all the while, 3 lone survivors of said war were fighting to stay alive, fighting to make it to the next day, fighting so that they could finally have a chance at fixing the past, at saving the world from the clutches of war, fighting to be able to see their loved ones, once again. The fight seemed like it would never end for the three shinobi, as endless more of _Them_ came into the fight. Their strength and stamina, however high it may be, was dwindling to a spark, as finally, one last wave of _Them _charged at the group, instantly being slaughtered by the 3's swords, already covered in blood.

"Naruto! We have to use the jutsu right now! There's no telling how many more will arrive. It's our only choice, so long as we hope to see our friends and family again!" Ino shouted, slicing through the last of the monsters.

"Alright. Stand in a circle, and copy my hand signs, quickly !" Naruto shouted as the three formed a circle. When the 3 were done with the hand signs, a blinding flash of gold, blue, silver, and red could be seen throughout the wasteland the 3 once called home. When the flash cleared, the group was gone, and a group of wolf looking humanoids was seen, gathered at the sight of the flash, all of them confused as to why they had sensed chakra, when there was nothing there.

"Ino honey, it's time to get up!" came a voice that the platinum blonde hadn't heard since she was 16. I no opened her eyes quickly to realize that she was still dressed in her clothes from the future.

"I'll be right down mom!" Ino yelled, stashing her stuff into a sealing scroll and getting changed. She wore a long-sleeve purple shirt with black shinobi pants. She kept her hair back in a ponytail, which she was saddened to see hadn't reached down like it used to.

"Come on Ino! You're going to be late!" her mom called to her, while the blonde was trying to decide whether or not to keep her sword on her. _'I'll keep it on me, it'll surprise the hell out of the class,' _Ino thought, strapping it onto her back. She walked hurriedly down the stairs, hoping her mother wouldn't notice the sword. "Ino, honey, when did you get that sword?" her mom asked as Ino mentally swore to herself.

"I got it from a friend a while back, and I decided I would show it off," Ino said, holding off emotions from how she really got it.

—Flashback—

_3 years after the war _

"_Ino, I wanted to wish you a happy birthday," Naruto said, holding out a package. They were sitting in a dark cave, waiting patiently for Kakashi to return with supplies._

_ "H-how'd you know it was my birthday?" Ino questioned her blonde campanion, confused because they had never told each other that information._

_ "Hey, I wasn't a complete knuckle head back in the academy," Naruto said, giving his signature foxy-grin. "Now go ahead, open it." He handed the package to Ino, who was shocked, none the less. She opened the package, finding a gleaming sword that was sharp as a razor. The blade lead down and ended at a beautifully shaped hilt, which resembled that of the 2 tailed demon Nibi's head._

_ "W-wow, Naruto, it's beautiful," Ino said, pulling Naruto into a tight hug. She let go when she heard somebody clear their throat._

_ "Umm, am I interrupting anything?" Kakashi asked, standing at the entrance to their temporary home. He just chuckled when he saw the blush on Ino's face._

—End Flashback—

"Well, it's a very beautiful sword honey," Ino's mother said, pulling her daughter to a seat at their table. "So, who was the boy that gave it to you?" her mother asked, causing Ino to gag on the orange juice that she had started drinking. She got her answer when her daughter started blushing a deep crimson color.

"I-it wasn't a boy that gave it to me!" Ino lied, though unsuccessfully.

"Come on honey, you can't hide it from your mother. Who's the boy?" Ino's mom asked persistently.

"N-naruto Uzumaki," Ino said, stopping herself from saying Naruto's whole last name.

"Ahh, the Uzumaki. He's a good kid, though he'll be trouble if he ends up like-" Ino's mom stopped herself from saying the rest.

"If he ends up like who?" Ino asked, curious as to what her mother was hiding.

"Umm, nobody. Now go on, you have to get to the Academy for your big test," her mother said, acting entirely to nervous. She pushed her daughter out the door, sighing as she did so. _'That was entirely too close, I almost revealed who his parents were,' _Ino's mom thought, walking back to the table.

_15 minutes later, Academy classroom._

Everybody had just been seated save one blonde male who was rushing to get there. He burst through the doors to the academy. The class of which the room he broke into was staring at him in shock. He still wore his black cloak, with his jonin vest on underneath, and his Kyuubi katana. He still had on his headband, too. Everything about him was the same, except he was shorter and looked younger, but still with his cold, blue eyes.

"Naruto! What's the meaning of the attire you're dressed in!" Iruka yelled at the blonde, who only just realized that he was still in his clothes. Ino face palmed. _'He's still the number one knuckle head,' _She thought.

"Umm, trying a new look?" Naruto said, trying to think fast. Iruka frowned even more at this.

"Do you think becoming a shinobi is a joke!" Iruka half asked, half yelled at Naruto, who just shrunk in fear of the chunin.

"No! I just thought I better start dressing like a real shinobi, instead of dressing in that neon orange that just said 'come and kill me'," Naruto yelled back, gaining some confidence. Ino sighed in relief, happy that he found a better excuse.

"Take a seat, ok? And where did you acquire the headband and vest?" the chunin asked, pondering how in the world he would've gotten them.

"They were my father's, he died in the Kyuubi attack while helping the fourth to defeat the demon," Naruto said, not completely lying.

"Alright, just take a seat. Aburame Shino?" Iruka said, starting to call attendance. Naruto just sighed in defeat as he took a seat next to Ino.

"what the hell was that about Naruto?"Ino asked in an angered whisper.

"Sorry, I woke up late, and I didn't realize I was still dressed in this," Naruto said, making Ino sigh. "Ok, should we show off, or should we do like we did on the original?"

"Show off. I want to see the reactions on Sakura's and Sasuke's faces when we beat them. Ready?" Ino asked, saying here quickly as Iruka called out her name. 3 hours later and a shocked class later, our two favorite blondes walked out of class together.

"Ha. Did you see the look on Sasuke's face when I wiped the floor with him?" Naruto asked Ino, barely controlling his laughter.

"Or when I wiped the floor with Sakura in every part? It was priceless!" Ino said, bursting in laughter.

"Hey! Dobe! I need to talk to you!" A voice said coming from behind the two blondes.

"Ugh, what do you want, Sasuke-teme?" Naruto said, groaning at the thought of Sasuke ruining this moment.

"I wanted to say, I'm sorry. I never meant to treat you the way I was. I only did it to try and show off in front of the others," Sasuke said, startling the blondes from their moment. _'Well, he certainly didn't ruin the moment,' _Naruto thought.

"Umm, thank you. I understand, and if there's anything you need help with, let me know, ok? I'll try to help you as best as I can," Naruto said, startling Ino, who thought he would've said something completely different.

"Thank you, Naruto, for accepting my apology," Sasuke said, bowing in front of the blonde.

"Hey, Sasuke, how about I help train you, you know, so you could defeat Itachi?" Naruto asked, receiving an eager nod from the black haired boy.

"Thank you, again. You don't know how much this means to me," Sasuke said, tears starting to fall from his face.

"No problem. Now go home, training starts tomorrow, 8 o'clock sharp. Meet me at the training grounds nearest the Hokage monument," Naruto told the boy, who seemed over pleased at the information. The now happy, non brooding boy ran off, in pure joy.

"Naruto…." was all Ino said for the blonde Jinchuriki to understand.

"I know, he's up to something. But to be honest, I don't think that it's anything bad. I saw the look in his eye, he's up to something for the good of stuff," Naruto said, gaining himself a smile from his blonde companion.

"Ok, I trust you. Now, I know you want ramen-" bad mistake, because as soon as Ino said ramen, Naruto could be seen speeding at abnormal speeds to his favorite ramen bar, dragging Ino with him.

**AN: So, yeah, I know I kind of made Sasuke a bit O.C., oh well. It'll all fit into my story later on. Just had to let you know that in case anybody wanted to complain. R&R**


	3. Author's Note

**AN: So, I won't be updating for a while, since I started reading Bleach, and I've been working on a bleach fanfic, so sorry to all those people who liked my stories. Plus, I kind of need some time to come up with some new ideas for the story.**


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